Pfizer to pay $60 million to settle claims that Biohaven paid kickbacks to doctors

Pfizer agreed to pay nearly $60 million to resolve allegations that its Biohaven Pharmaceuticals unit paid kickbacks to entice physicians to prescribe a migraine treatment. The alleged violations occurred before Pfizer bought the company three years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The authorities alleged that, from March 2020 through September 2022, Biohaven improperly paid doctors speaking fees and for meals at “high end” restaurants in order to persuade them to prescribe Nurtec ODT, the centerpiece of the $11.6 billion acquisition. The year before, the medication generated $462.5 million in sales.

The Justice Department also claimed that certain doctors who attended multiple programs about the same topic did not actually receive any educational benefit from doing so. In addition, the programs were attended by people with “no educational need to attend, such as the speakers’ spouses, family members, or friends, or colleagues from the speakers’ own medical practice.”